An 80-year-old woman has been discovered deceased after a cruise ship departed without her, leaving her abandoned on a secluded island destination.
Suzanne Rees from New South Wales had ventured out with fellow passengers on a guided hiking excursion when the devastating incident unfolded. When the time arrived to reboard the Coral Adventurer cruise liner, she was nowhere among the returning group.
The tragedy occurred at Lizard Island, situated along the Great Barrier Reef, which marked the opening destination of an ambitious 60-day voyage circumnavigating Australia. Travel on this luxury expedition came at a steep price—balcony accommodations alone commanded roughly $86,400 per guest, according to reports from The Guardian.
Though authorities are classifying Rees’ passing as ‘sudden and non-suspicious,’ her relatives maintain that the cruise operator neglected their fundamental responsibility to ensure passenger safety. Her daughter, Katherine, expressed being “shocked and saddened” by the circumstances surrounding her mother’s abandonment, while recounting the sequence of events that culminated in tragedy.
In an interview with The Australian, Katherine explained: “Based on the limited information we’ve received, there appears to have been a breakdown in both care and basic judgment. Police informed us that temperatures soared that day, and Mum became unwell during the uphill trek. She was instructed to return to the base—completely alone and without accompaniment.
“The vessel then departed, evidently without conducting a proper headcount of passengers. Somewhere within that chain of events, or immediately afterward, Mum passed away, by herself.
“My hope is that the coroner’s investigation will reveal what measures the company should have implemented that could have prevented my mother’s death.”
Queensland Police confirmed that the Coral Adventurer—a 306-foot vessel designed to accommodate 120 travelers and 48 staff members—reported Rees missing on Saturday, October 25.
Emergency responders deployed a rescue helicopter at 12:45 a.m. the next morning. Tragically, Rees’ remains were located later that same day, October 26.
“We’re actively examining the circumstances that may explain why this passenger wasn’t properly accounted for when boarding resumed,” stated a representative from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency response division.
Earlier this week, Mark Fifield, who serves as chief executive of Coral Expeditions, issued a statement recognizing the “tragic death of a passenger aboard the Coral Adventurer during a shore excursion to Lizard Island.”
“Search and rescue efforts were immediately mobilized across both land and water,” he noted. “After these operations concluded, Queensland police informed Coral Expeditions that the woman had been found dead on Lizard Island.
“As the investigation into this incident continues, we extend our profound regret that this tragedy happened and are providing complete support to the woman’s loved ones.”